Sitatunga Tours

East Africa is one of the richest bird areas in the world. With a wealth of different habitats, often close to each other, it’s quite easy to spot over 100 species in one day. Although many of the birds are brightly colored and exotic looking, they are generally quite easily recognized; within a day or two you will be identifying the various species with ease! Their main habitats include water, open plains, woodlands and farmlands.

On or near water, you will find bright pink Flamingos, Hammerkops, iridescent Kingfishers, Plovers, Herons, Storks, Geese, Cranes, Jacanas and of course the magnificent African Fish Eagle. In certain places along the coast there are breeding pairs of Osprey as well. The open savannah plains, where the majority of the big safaris take place, offer excellent bird watching opportunities for some unusual ground dwellers. The Ground Hornbill, at nearly 110 cm. tall is one of the largest and most visible; the tall Secretary bird is also spotted often. Eagles, vultures, and ostrich, the largest bird on earth, are also spotted frequently.

The smaller plains birds, such as the Ox-peckers, snowy white Egrets, brilliant Sunbirds and bustards are also found in abundance; you can’t miss seeing birds on any game drive! Near the woodlands, you’ll find yet more species with starlings of every color, Bee-eaters, Drongos, Hornbills, Shrikes, the beautiful Lilac-breasted Roller, Barbets and Guinea Fowl.

Arriving into the big city airports, frequently the first birds spotted are the urban and farmland dwellers, such as the Wagtails and Weaverbirds, with their huge nest colonies.  Even a short two or three day safari will provide an excellent species count for the ardent bird watcher; a longer trip will ensure a superb introduction to the over 1,000 species found in East Africa.

Kenya has one of the richest avifaunas in Africa with around 1090 bird species recorded. At least eight of these are national endemics. Around 170 species of Kenya’s birds species are Palearctic migrants (11 species of them with a local breeding population too), mainly from eastern Europe, Russia, the middle East and Siberia. Another 60 species migrate regularly within the Afrotropics or from Madagascar. Some 335 species are found in forest; 230 species are entirely forest dependent and 110 species are “forest specialists” requiring intact, undisturbed habitat and Forty species of global conservation concern are known to occur in Kenya. Four of these are criticallyEndangered, two Endangered and 16 species are Vulnerable.

14 Days Bird Watching Safari

10 days Exclusive to Kenya’s Meru National Park, Samburu, Lake Nakuru, Lake Baringo, Lake Naivasha Bird Watching Safari. Kenya Ornithology
Birding Safari

Day 1: Nairobi (arrival)

Arrive at the JKI Airport to be met by your guide. Birding starts right away from the stairs off the plane as the Little, African Palm Swifts and the Superb Starling appears common while the Red-winged Starling whistles to remind you to have your binoculars ready. Transfer to the hotel for a rest, followed by a visit to the Nairobi National Museum’s birds, ethnography, geology, prehistory galleries (among others) as well as the Snake Park.

This is the right place to learn and see many of the Kenya’s multifacets of culture, pre-history and it’s natural resources. Birding continues around the museum’s botanical garden or elsewhere depending on the time.
Overnight in Nairobi.

Day 2: Olorgesaille

We’ll drive down the escarpment towards this dry, arid, scrub country about 75 km south of Nairobi (towards Lake Magadi). Makes an excellent whole day birding trip. All the way down the rift valley, stops along the way shows ta distinctive change of habitat and species. Recorded species includes the Cut Throat, Blue-capped Cordonbleu, Northen Crombec, Banded Parisoma, White-bellied Canary, Crimson-rumped Waxbill, Grey Wren Warbler, Taita Fiscal, Von der Decken’s Hornbill, Fischer’s Sparrow-Lark, Grey-headed Silverbill, Grey-capped Social-Weaver, Red-fronted Tinkerbird, Straw-tailed Wydah, Tiny Cisticola etc.

We’ll also spend some hours at the Olorgesaille prehistoric Site, a museum displaying many hand tools by man. Picnic lunch at the Museum.
Overnight in Nairobi.

Day 3: Lake Nakuru National Park via Gatamaiyu Forest

Leave early for the Gatamaiyu forest, located about 50-km n.w. of Nairobi stretches through the Kieni forest (part of the central highland) and boost many montane species includes the Chestnut-throated, Grey, Black-collared, Black-throated Apalis, Montane Oriole, Narina & Bar-tailed Trogon, Black-fronted Bush-shrike, Yellow-rumped, Mustached Green Tinkerbird, Scarce Swift, White-browed Crombec, while Abbott’s Starling and the Sharpe’s Starling have been recorded, among others.

While Manguo Ponds makes an excellent birding spot en-route to the forest. It boost a wide variety of waterfowls such as the Yellow-billed Ducks, Little Grebe, Red-billed Teal, Red-knobbed Coot, while Maccoa Ducks are regularly recorded, Grey, Black-headed Heron, African Spoonbill, White-faced Whistling Duck, Hottentot Teal, while sometimes waders may occur in large numbers such as the Greenshanks, Sandpipers, Plovers etc.

Leave late afternoon for Lake Nakuru National park passing by the Kinangop plateau in search of Sharpe’s Longclaw, one of the Kenya’s endemic.
Overnight at Lake Nakuru.

Day 4: Lake Nakuru National Park

Lake Nakuru National Park is referred to as the “the greatest ornithological spectacle in the world” with both Lesser and the Greater Flamingoes sometimes exceeding 1.5 million individuals. The alkaline habitat supports thousands of resident and migratory waterfowl. The alkaline lake, acacia woodland, grassland, rivers and inlets with marshes hold over the 450 species.

Some of the common birds includes the Little Grebe, Great White Pelican, Black-winged Stilt, Gull-billed, Whiskered Tern, Grey-headed Gull, Cape and Red-billed Teal, Southern Pochard, Long-crested, and African Crowned Eagle, White-fronted Bee-eater, Arrow-Marked Babbler, Little Rock Thrush, Wailing Cisticola, Ruppell’s Long-tailed Starling, Lilac-breasted Roller, Cliff Chat and many species of waders.

In addition, the park is rich in big games that includes the Giraffe, Buffalo, Waterbuck, Eland, Hippo, both Black and White Rhino, Lion, Leopard, Spotted Hyena among many small mammals.

Overnight at Lake Nakuru.

Day 5: Lake Baringo

We take a morning game and bird-drive in the park before leaving for the Lake Baringo Conservation Area, another Kenya’s birding hotspots. Afternoon, visit the cliffs not far from the lake, a good site for Hemprich’s & Jackson’s Hornbills, White-faced Scops Owl, Bristle-crowned Starling, Brown-tailed Rock Chat, Green-winged Pytilia, and Red & Yellow Barbet, Bat Hawk, Three Banded Courser, Slender-tailed Nightjar (among many others).

Birding along the camp site and the hotel could yield the Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, African Pigmy kingfisher, Black Headed Plover,
Overnight at Lake Baringo Country Club.

Day 6: Kapedo

We drive north of Lake Baringo about 75km to Kapedo lying on a semi-desert and the specialties around this area includes the Magpie Starling, Chestnut-headed Sparrow-Lark, Pigmy Batis, Somali Sparrow, Somali Fiscal, Pale Prinia, Mouse-Coloured Penduline-Tit, among others.
Overnight at Lake Baringo Country Club.

Day 7: Kitale

Today we take an early morning boat ride before going back to the cliff and the bush around hoping to see the Goliath, Grey Heron, Great White Pelicans among many waterbirds. Before lunch we leave for Kitale where we spend the night looking forward for tomorrow birding day down the Kongelai Escarpment.

Overnight in Kitale.

Day 8: Kongelai Escarpment

We drive down the Kongelai escarpment on the west of Makutano (Kitale – Turkana Road). This is yet another excellent birding area where we expect localized birds such as the Yellow-billed Shrike, Lesser Blue-eared Starling, White Crested Turaco, Chestnut Crowned Sparrow-weaver, Dark Chanting Goshawk among many other interesting species.

Late afternoon we leave heading for the Kakamega Forest.

Overnight in Kakamega.

Day 9 & 10: Kakamega Forest

2 Days long around the forest trails in the northern circiut. The Kakamega Forest, the only rain forest remaining in Kenya, was once a continuation of the Guinea-Congolian rainforest, rich in species nowhere else to be seen in Kenya. Spending a few days here we hope to see a good number of these forest species that could include the Blue-headed Bee-Eater, Red-headed Malimbe, Green Sunbird, Grey-winged Robin, Yellow Spotted, Yellow-bellied Barbets, African Blue Flycatcher, African Shrike-Flycatcher, Snowy-headed Robin, Common, Jamesson’s, Chestnut and with much luck the Yellow-bellied Wattle-Eyes and may be the Blue-shouldered Robin Chat among many others.

Overnight in Kakamega.

Day 11: Kisumu (Lake Victoria)

Birding before breakfast and after, later drive to Kisumu City just-by the second largest fresh-water lake in the world. Visit Impala Sanctuary and the Sewerage Works that could yield a Southern Red Bishop, Black-billed Barbet.
Overnight at Kisumu.

Day 12: Masai Mara Game Reserve

Today we take an early morning boat ride along the Papyrus vegetation at the Dunga Beach (a fishing village/jet) with expectation to see some the specialties like the Papyrus Canary, Papyrus Gonolek, Swamp Flycatcher, Slender-billed, Northern Brown-throated, Jackson’s Golden-backed, Yellow-backed Weavers, Greater Swamp Warbler e.t.c.

After this we leave for the world famous Masai Mara Game Reserve for the next 3 days.

Overnight in Mara.

Day 13: Masai Mara Game Reserve

Masai Mara Game Reserve is a plain of rolling grassland dotted with a mixture of acacia trees and the plain game which includes large herds of Elephants, Zebras, Topis, Hartebeests, gazelles, Impala’s not forgetting the well known Mara/ Serengeti Wildebeest’s migration, Lions, Cheetah among other cats. We’ll stay on the western part of the reserve along the Olololo Escarpments blended by river, swampy, grassy and forested habitats. Specialties could include the Tabora, Rock Loving Cisticola, Wattled Plover, Penduline Tit, Pale Wren Warbler, among others. Those interested with Balloon Safari- this is the place to view Mara and her wildlife by air.

We’ll spend sometime in the afternoon to visit the Masai Village for a cultural dance and experience their way of life.

Overnight in Mara.

Day 14: Nairobi

En route game drive on our way to Nairobi while searching for more bird species especially the Magpie Shrike and others on the eastern part of the reserve. While on the way to Nairobi we’ll stop in search of the Swallow-tailed Kite.

Return to Nairobi where our tour ends with a dinner before the transfer to the airport.

Kenya ’s tourism sector thrives on the natural resources and the scenic landscape. According to the Ministry of Tourism the country has 59 national parks and reserves that spread from the Coast to Lake Victoria in the western region.

It is estimated that the game parks and reserves occupy about 7.5 percent of the land surface.

The tourist attractions include marine parks, mountains, the Rift valley and lakes. Each of these is unique and offers varied attractions. Marine parks are renowned for the coral reefs, gardens and sea animals. The beaches and lagoons offer opportunities for sun bathing, boat riding and big game fishing. Similarly the inland lakes offer a variety of attractions.

Lake Nakuru in the Rift Valley is famed for flamingos, while Lake Victoria offers opportunity to see fresh water fish, unique species of birds, crocodiles and hippos. Other inland water attractions are available in Lake Turkana, Bogoria , Baringo, Naivasha and Elementaita .The mountains are scenic and host numerous species of wild game.In themselves,the mountains such as Mt.Kenya ,Mt Kilimanjaro and Elgon offer excellent opportunities for climbing adventures,photography trekking and camping.

Besides these, the country has some of the indigenous and highly valued forests such as the Arabuko Sokoke and Kakamega, which are rich in wildlife, including birds and insects that are beautiful to watch.

The Kenya Wildlife Service manages the national game parks. While the game reserves are under local councils. The Kenya Wildlife Service is a state corporation that is responsible for conserving the natural resources and ensuring that they commercially benefit the country.